Wealth Secrets of the 1%: The Truth About Money, Markets and Multi-Millionaires

The truth about money, markets and multi-millionaires. From the richest Romans to the robber barons to the tech billionaires of today, leading economist Sam Wilkin tells stories of profound wealth then shows exactly how they did it.

The question is not, 'why is it so hard to get rich', but 'why is it so easy for some people to get rich?'

Wealth Secrets of the One Per Cent is an exploration of how people become billionaires. It looks at what we can learn about business from the super-wealthy, from the Ancient World to modern emerging economies, via the American Industrialists, the '90s dotcom boom and other key entrepreneurial moments in history.

Global Economic Forecaster Sam Wilkin's surprising conclusion is that despite superficial differences, from Mexican telecoms billionaires to Roman senators, their methods of wealth accumulation have a great deal in common. Behind almost every great fortune is a 'wealth secret'--a moneymaking technique that involves some sort of scheme for defeating the forces of market competition. They're not pretty, but then, who said making a billion was easy?

An amazing read. It turns out you don't need to be a genius to get fabulously wealthy. You only need to make one of these basic wealth secrets work for you. Wilkin's deep research studying Indian billionaires, American magnates, Russian oligarchs, Mexican tycoons, Roman generals and assorted others of the mega-rich lead Wilkin to identify their wealth secrets. Get on to one of those and you too can light your cigars with $100 bills . . . — Marvin Zonis, Professor Emeritus, Booth School of Business, the University of Chicago

This clever, entertaining piece of work is a self-help book with a distinctly satirical edge. Rich and poor will enjoy it equally, and if you have a modest entourage, I would consider getting copies for them too. — Daily Mail

What makes this book different is that Sam Wilkin is an inside man ... Pay attention, for this could be your chance to follow in the immaculate Italian leather shod footsteps of the world's one per cent. — Daily Telegraph

If you want to become ultra-rich, this book is for you. Sam Wilkin combs history for a provocative and well-written account of the secrets of wealth formation. Just reading this book will make you richer. — Darrell M. West, Vice President of Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution and author of Billionaires: Reflections on the Upper Crust